Alternation
by TheWorstDeathEater
Summary: When Harry Potter wakes up on his twelfth birthday, his cupboard is no where in sight, but both his parents and his sister are outside his bedroom, ready to say happy birthday. At first, he thinks it's a trick, but then why does he see two kids that look exactly like him, and why do they seem so guilty? And why are they so desperate to leave? Time-travel fic, H/G
1. The Locket - 1991

James stood still in the brisk New England air, shivering in his cloak, as he walk fast and kept his head low. Where he was going, no one knew _him_ , but he looked like his father, and everyone knew what he looked like. He brushed past the busy crowd of Diagon Alley, ignoring the multiple cries of protest that he caused. He looked up only when he made it to the dark side alley that was labelled with a broken, crooked, blood-red sign. It creaked in the win the bit at his skin, but he didn't flinch. He lifted his head and his bright green eyes flashed, so like his father's own. He glided past the shady doorways and drunks against the walls, leaving the words Knockturn Alley swaying ominously behind him. He stood in the shadows, unseen by everyone as they passed by, and closed his eyes. Slowly, the street rushed beneath his feet, and faces blurred as people began to disappear, and others reappeared all around him. Suddenly, Knockturn Alley in 2004 became the much grimier Knockturn Alley of 1991.

*************************************************************1991***************************************************************

The bell ringed cheerily inside of the dirty shop, startling the shopkeeper, who collected himself and rolled his eyes. Crossing his arms, he glared at the new arrival, whose face he had yet to see.

"We're closed."

The figure barked out a short laugh.

"There's no one here but you Borgin. We both know that."

Borgin uncrossed his arms and took a conscious step back. The voice was of an adolescent, but it reeked of power. "Who are-"

"Who I am doesn't matter to you Borgin. What matters is that there are aurors outside of your shop, and you have a horcrux in your locked safe behind the locked cabinet behind your painting of the balanced justice scales, ironically. Borgin stumbled so harshly, his arm shot out to steady himself and swiped all of the trinkets off of the counter. He fell to a knee and looked into the eyes of the child who threatened him and gasped out.

"Harry Potter…" he breathed out.

The boy chuckled darkly. "Honored, but not quite. Not quite." The lights flickered from the force of the power rolling off of him in waves.

"What do you want? I'll do anything you want."

The figure, in his black cloak, clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"No, Borgin, you'll _give_ me anything I want. And all I want from you is the wand tucked next to the locket in that safe."

Borgin recovered some of his wits and glared up at his tormentor. "No that belongs to-"

"Me. It belongs to me." The boy's voice came out as a growl, and all of the furniture in the store rumbled with it. Borgin scrambled to his feet and ran to the wall behind the counter. He muttered an array of spells before three small doors swung open against the moldy walls, sending up a cloud of dust from the crushed velvet.

The wand flew towards the youth's face and he caught it deftly between two fingers and examined it. He then tilted his head to the side and aimed the wand directly at Borgin's head.

The man squealed in terror and ducked, and the child laughed. This laugh was authentic and finally belied his true youthfulness. The locket in the safe soared to the gloved hand of the mysterious invader of Borgin's store, and the store owner stared incredulously The young man waved the wand, and the safe closed, and Borgin's eyes bugged out of his head.

"That-That-No-You can't- That locket can not be summoned!" Borgin stuttered.

The boy waved mockingly as he spun on his heel and sped out of the store.

"It can if you have the wand." And the boy was gone. Borgin slumped against the counter. He wasn't built for this war. His lord didn't tell him of a possible enemy like this. He moved towards his rooms to pack all of his things, so he could flee before the Dark Lord found out about his failure when the bell above the door of his store rung once more. He didn't turn, fear filling his body, and blood draining from his already pale cheeks when a cheeky voice called out,

"Oh, and there were never any aurors."

Borgin spun in place angrily, but when he faced the door, there was no one there.

He was alone.

James stood beside his brother, younger than him by a year, and waited patiently. Albus' leg bounced with his anxiety, and James laid a hand on his shoulder, which calmed him instantly.

"We're okay Al. It'll be okay." Albus scoffed at him and his leg resumed its bouncing.

"Jay, you can't actually know that. What if-" James finished his sentence.

"-you just trusted me for once? I don't know, let's try it out." Albus smiled at him. They were a year apart, but often acted like Fred and George except for the fact the James tended to be overprotective of his little brother. Which is why he leapt in front of Albus when a figure in a black cloak approached them from further down Knockturn Alley. Said figure rolled his eyes at the display and tossed a black silk drawstring bag at James and smirked.

"It's done. And I'm gone."

The cloaked teen vanished, leaving a smirking James and hopeful Albus staring into a black bag in Knockturn Alley.


	2. The Ring- 1960

**1960**

Two boys, nearly identical, seemingly appeared out of nowhere, without an additional disturbance in the night. One second they didn't exist, and the next they did. The night was cold and the grass surrounding the rotted house in front of them was a dead, dark brown. The twisted branches of the dying trees swayed ominously in the breeze. But all remained silent. Until the younger of the two started to laugh. It started out low, and gained in volume very quickly. But the laugh was dark and malicious, and sent a chill down his brother's spine.

The elder of the two shoved his brother to the side. "Al, I told you not to do that. That is creepy as hell!"

Al rolled his eyes and laughed again, this time light and cheery, indicative of his age. He shrugged his shoulders in nonchalance. "Jamie, relax. And besides we're outside his _house_. The laugh was required and you _know_ it."

The brothers looked at each other seriously, until James' eyebrow rose, and Albus' nose twitched and they started to laugh at the exact same time. Every time they looked at each other, the hysterical laugh started all over again. It continued like this for six minutes, before they began to feel the pulses of dark magic from the foundation of the house, its protection flaring out against the intruders that had crept ever closer in their glee.

James and Albus sobered quickly. James opened the black silk bag, and Albus withdrew the wand that James had stolen from Borgin. The waves of power rushed through him instantly and he struggled to hold on tighter to the wand.

James looked at his brother in worry, but didn't dare come any closer. Albus' eyes glowed an eerie green and he was shaking with the strength of the wand fighting against the wards. James had been standing about ten feet away from his brother, but rushed forward as the continuous magical backlash began to creep towards Albus' shaking form. Albus opened his eyes as he felt James' magical signature approaching. His voice was shaking from strain, but was still tinged with a raw panic.

"Jamie, STOP! I'll kill you! You need to get back! Please... stop…." Albus trailed off, his panicked screams lost to the rush of power surrounding him as the life began to fade from his eyes. James froze, his hand outstretched, desperate to make contact with his brother's skin. He was now three feet from him, and the sound of the wind was deafening, and he blamed it for the tears running down his cheeks, but he stared his brother in the eyes defiantly.

"Al, I need you to focus. You can pull it in, but if you don't, I'll go in and I'll get you, I swear I will. You have to do this." He didn't scream, but somehow, Albus heard him anyway because he shook his head fiercely, and with a blood-curling scream, the magic embedded in the shack snapped into his chest and the clearing went silent instantly. Albus collapsed to the ground, his knees too weak to hold his own weight. But James didn't move because Albus' eyes were still white. Then Albus blinked, and his eyes flashed his normal emerald green, and James was on his knees at Albus' side. He shook him and then sucked in a harsh breath. Albus wasn't breathing.

James' hand glowed white, the same color that Albus' eyes had been, and he placed his hand on Albus' chest. The glow spread from his fingertips, across Albus' skin, and suc=nk deep below the surface. The ground began to tremble, the tree blackened to ash and crumbled, and the grass went completely black, but still James did not stop, until Albus took a deep breath and shot up. He looked around until his eyes landed on James.

He collapsed against James, who held him close. Albus raised a weak hand to the building, his hand glowing once again - a soft yellow this time- and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, his released a relieved breath and dropped his hand. He turned his head to his brother, with exhausted joy in his eyes. "The wards are down. You can summon it now."

James looked down at Albus and sighed. "I never doubted it. But we are NEVER doing that again." He turned to the house and raised the wand, causing a ring to fly out of one of the broken windows of the house. James caught the ring and shoved it into the black silk bag before he was tempted to wear the ring. Albus rolled his eyes.

"Let go _dad_." James huffed.

"Hey, I may look like him, but my name is _James._ "

"Whatever, I look like him more."

"We're almost identical, dammit!"

"Exactly. _Almost_ James, not completely."

"Go to hell, Albus"

"As long as you meet me there."

And just like that, the clearing was as empty as it had been fifteen minutes ago, the only reminder left being the black grass and trees, and the missing ring. The brothers once again ceased to exist. 


	3. The Diadem - 1955

They seemed to be making a habit of this, appearing in places they shouldn't. In places that they couldn't. The brothers stood stoically before the gates of the castle.

The younger turned to his brother, but he knew nothing needed to be said. And sure enough, James closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and laid his hands on the cool iron of the barriers surrounding Hogwarts. He could feel the magic embedded in the metal, coursing through his mind, and suddenly, the magic took form.

A beautiful woman stood before his mind's eye. She was breathtaking. Her long hair was black as night, but shimmered as though she had stars woven between the strands. Her dress was an array of color, flowing seamlessly from red to green to yellow to blue. It was impossible to tell where on color started and another began. She had eyes the color of hardened amber, but held the warmth of wisdom and love. She reminded James of his mother, and he knew she would accept him unconditionally...

"You do not belong here. _Leave_."

Her eyes narrowed in confusion and anger, the hardened amber appearing to crack under the flames of her ire. James nearly broke contact with the bars of the gate in his surprise, but he determinedly held fast.

"I am the heir of your creator, thus I am your heir as well. Allow me passage across your grounds."

He sounded more confident than he felt. As it was, his voice trembled on the command, and her head tilted in amusement.

"My heir is Charles Potter. I have no idea how you wield this magic, and why I responded so clearly, but it is of no consequence. I will not betray my true heir."

She turned to walk away, on a shimmering pathway that he sensed would lead her out of his mind, and he panicked, and yanked her back once more. His magic lashed out harshly, and she had no choice but to obey. She stood in shock for a moment. James used her momentary distraction as a way to pull her into his mind fully, allowing her to see the way in which he had come to possess control over her castle. She withdrew on her own, gave a solemn nod and vanished back down that blasted, shiny road.

Albus stood to the side of James, the shield he had erected in order to shield them from the occupants of the castle wavered. Never had he held a shield for such an extended period of time. As they stood there and The time passed from 15 minutes to half an hour, Albus started to tire. And once they had been standing there for an hour, Albus' knees began to buckle. He too reached out to touch the gates.

His eyes tinted with a white glow, his palm almost made contact when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, with a borderline painful grip. Albus turned to look at his brother just as the gates silently seeing open to grant them entry. If looks could kill...

James said nothing. He pulled out his hand and cast his own cloaking spell over the both of them. Only then did he growl at his brother. "Drop it."

Albus released the magic with a pained groan. "What the _hell_ were you _thinking_?!" The rage in his brother's voice rang true, and Albus shrunk away in shame. He lowered his head.

"I needed more power. My spell was too weak, and you were still entraced." Albus brought his head up slightly. This was a mission. He had done what made the most sense, and he looked James dead in the eye as his defiance grew. "We would have been discovered. It was the only option." James face darkened, and the grass beneath his feet began to do the same.

"The wards here are thousands of times stronger than the wards at the Gaunt house. You _died_ , Albus. _Your_ _heart_ _stopped_." The circle of dead grass around his feet widened, and his fingertips shone with uncontrolled power.

Albus recoiled in shock, and his face turned gray. He reached for James, who shook his head and stepped back, not letting him touch him. Albus dropped his head once more. But James wasn't done.

"The magic backlash killed you once, and it _DEFINITELY_ would have killed you again. And I don't know if I could have brought you back this time."

James took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He looked down to hide the tears in his eyes, and saw the devastation at his feet. He rolled his shoulders and thrust his hands out, letting power roll through his skin. Only then did he look back at his brother, his green eyes bright with tears he couldn't stop.

"Promise me you won't do it again. Not without me."

Albus whipped his head back towards James so fast that his eyes needed a second to focus on their desired target.

"I won't do it again. And I definitely won't do it with you. If my own powers killed me, then it would obliterate you."

Albus stepped back and ran his arm over his eyes. Catching his tears on his sleeve before they fell. He took a shakybreath, and turned back to his brother.

"Alright, let's do this." As one, the pivoted and began the walk to the castle.

As they reached the doors, they opened without prompting and they stepped inside. Albus turned to James, argument forgotten, with mischief in his eyes.

"Thank God we came as early as we could-"

James laughed softly, his eyes glittering in response.

"-so we don't have to see Filch."

Albus snorted, and then shuddered in fake disgust.

"Or even worse-"

"-Mrs. Norris."

The two boys cackled as they travelled to the seventh floor.

Walking past the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, the twin like brothers looked to the painting and then at each other, shaking their heads.

"Sodding idiot." They spoke in unison, sparking laughter once more. Albus paced in front of the door to the room of requirement, and thought,

I need a place to hide something.

I need a place to hide something.

I need a place to hide something.

The door materialized almost instantly after the third repetition of this thought. They walked through calmly, as though they had all the time in the world.

You know, because they did.

Once in the room, James closed his eyes and felt for a life force he could take. The room began to shake and the lights began to flicker, and the walls started to crack and warp. Albus reached for James, and his eyes snapped open. The white glow of his eyes had swallowed the green, but the desperation in them was clear. The roles had reversed, and James backed away, the walls crumbled dangerously around them. Albus took another step forward, and then he was right there. His hands and eyes began to glow, and James whimpered in fear.

"Please don't, Albus, please. _Please_."

Albus shook his head determinedly. " _Rein it in,_ Jamie. I won't let you lose control. So take it back or let me help you. Those are your only two options."

The irony of the swapped roles was not lost on him, and he huffed in frustration. This was not as easy as finding a lost pet in you cluttered room, or locating your lost family in a crowd of muggles at Yankee stadium. What he searched for did not want to be found, and it fought back. And once the fighting began, there was no stopping it until he either won, or paid the price for challenging in the first place. His powers cast about unchecked and he gritted his teeth. He knew he had to keep fighting.

His mission was incomplete...

His life was hang precariously in the balance...

The castle was crumbling...

 _He could hurt his brother._

With a scream of rage and pain, his hands flung out, and the visible aura of his power circled him like a cyclone and sunk back into his pores. Dangling from one gloved fingertip was a tarnished Diadem. It whispered to them, hissing enticingly, and then went silent as it fell into the silk bag to join the others. James nearly collapsed with exhaustion, but was caught around the waist by his brother's arm. Despite his fatigue, James smirked at his brother.

"Three down, two to go."

Albus groaned and looked at his older brother imploringly.

"Can we do the last two at the same time?"

James rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Sure, but then we're gonna have to pick someone up first."

And with a quick mental request, they vanished, right before Albus Dumbledore's eyes.


	4. The Cup AND The Diary - 1946

He was pacing. He had been pacing and screaming for the past 15 minutes.

Every few seconds he turned his head to demand an answer from James, but was so incensed that he cut his off to demand another answer, or to insult his intelligence.

James growled, his irritation growing everytime his best friend refused to let him explain.

"You said _one_ favor. One favor, James."

"I know, but-"

"And yet, here you are. _Again_. My father is going to kill me. Do you realize what you've done? If we do this, we could die. Actually, no, not true. We wouldn't die, because we won't have ever _existed_. Can you comprehend how serious that is?"

"Yes, but we-"

"Our parents might never meet. My dad could marry your mom. Hell, my dad could marry your dad."

"What the fu-"

"You don't know! You don't know _anything_ , because you had a dream about fixing shit, and then you decided to go back in time and _fuck shit up_!"

"We didn't fuck shit u-"

"This is so fucking dangerous. And _stupid._ You have _souls_. You're carrying three souls in that bag like it's a fucking bagged lunch."

"It's technically just one so-"

"And now, you want me to time travel again, to access accounts that don't belong to me?"

"They do belong t-"

"To get _more_ fucking souls?"

"We only have one fucking sou-"

"Do you have a fucking _mind_?"

Albus had been looking back and forth between the both of them in amusement, but knew that they would keep going as long as he let them. So he stood up and cleared his throat, looking at the more hostile of the two. He kept yelling in James' face, completely ignoring Albus.

Albus saw red.

"SCORPIUS!"

Scorpius whipped his head to the side, his silver eyes hard and unrelenting. When he spoke, he was no longer screaming, his voice was instead cold and flat.

"What?"

Albus took a deep breath. "If you didn't want to help, you wouldn't have given us the bag. Or the watch."

Scorpius growled. "Exactly. I already helped your ungrateful asses. Twice. And it drained me. That type of power..."

He trailed off as he stared at the brothers, rage simmering beneath his gaze. "But you two already know, because _you_ gave me this power - this _curse_."

James scoffed. "We all did it together. We all made that choice, and we're all to blame. We didn't force you to do anything."

Scorpius glowered at him, and James sighed and softened his tone.

"Scorp, you know that we'll be careful. We're gonna save our parents. All of them."

He stepped closer and looked him in the eye. "Tell me you trust me."

Scorpius sagged, grabbing the bridge of his nose. " I trust that you think you're doing that right thing, but this can get so fucked up, so fast."

But he was grabbing his wand and his cloak off of the table as he spoke.

James laughed excitedly, and Albus whooped and threw his fist into the air. The Potter "Twins", looked at each other, and then at the same time -

"Let's do the Time-Warp again."

Scorpius groaned and stalked out of the door, leaving his best friends cackling behind him.

"I swear I can't stand you people."

The stood just outside the wards of Malfoy-Greengrass Manor.

James pulled out the watch around his neck. Like a time-turner, it took them back in time.

Unlike a time turner, it was infused with purified dark magic, making in exponentially more powerful.

James looked at his best friend and his brother, and then spoke clearly and quickly.

"Gringotts, April 16th, **1955** , 12:00 AM."

The three 15 year olds disappeared from the lawn, under the horrified watch of Draco Malfoy.

Draco spun on his heel and called his house elf in a panic. His house elf, Luana, appeared, her dark green dress swaying with her sudden travel.

He looked down at her distractedly as he rushed towards the fireplace. "Luana, wake up Astoria and tell her to meet me in the parlor. Tell her it's an emergency." Luana disappeared with a sharp crack, and he grabbed the floo powder off the mantle.

Right before he raised his wand to light the fireplace, Luana reappeared at his side, and the loud crack that accompanied her arrival sent the floo powder flying into the air as Draco cursed and flinched.

Luana looked horrified, twisting her hands together as she rocked back and forth on the heels of her feet. "I'm so sorry, Master Draco, I thought you'd be expecting me."

Her proper grammer was the norm for house elfs these days after Hermione legalized payment for house elfs, created House elf empowerment programs, and education programs for house elfs of all ages.

Draco pinched his nose and waved his hand dismissively, disregarding her apology. "It's fine, Luana, where's Astoria?"

Luana brightened up. "Oh, Mistress said that she would join you at her earliest convenience."

Draco turned in a slow circle to face his house elf head on. His expression was thunderous. " _What_?"

Luana's smile dimmed slightly, and she was wringing her hands again. "Mistress Astoria said that she would be down as soon as she was finished." Luana looked decidely uncomfortable. "She...she was powdering her nose when I left."

"She was powdering her nose." Draco's unpowdered nose was flared, and his voice was rising steadily.

"Our son just disappeared off of our front lawn, and she's upstairs powdering her _GODDAMN NOSE_?!" The vase holding the floo powder exploded behind Draco, and he spun around and used his wand to push some of it into the flames of the fireplace, which had lit in his anger. "Oceanhill Chateau!"

Before he stepped into the green flames, he turned to Luana and bit out, "Can you please tell my wife that I have gone to save our son, and that she can join me if she wants to, but only at her _earliest convenience_." And just like that, Draco Malfoy was gone.

1955

And there it was, Gringotts in all it's glory, looking exactly the same as it did 64 years later. They walked up the polished marble steps.

They kept their hoods up in order to hide their faces, and pushed open the large, wooden doors. They stepped into the lobby, dimly lit by the individual lamps on each teller's desk.

Walking to the desk placed in the back of the lobby, closest to the goblins' private offices, they found a teller that looked very familiar to James and Albus. James opened his mouth to greet the goblin behind the desk, but Albus beat him to it. Loudly.

"Griphook!" Albus' call echoed in the spacious room, and while the goblins did not visibly react, the few witches and wizards in the bank looked towards them in curiosity.

James slapped Albus on the back of the head, and the same time that Scorpius pinched his arm and hissed, "Shut the hell up" menacingly in his ear. Rubbing his head with one hand and his arm with the other, Albus muttered an apology and backed away.

Griphook, recognizable despite his youth, squinted at them suspiciously. "Do I know you?"

James glared at Albus when he went to answer, and turned back to the distrusting goblin in front of him. But he was stumped for an answer, and turned to Scorpius for help. Scorpius rolled his eyes and stepped forward. "Good Afternoon, we would like to access the Black and Malfoy family vaults." Turning the conversation to business allowed them to skip past Albus' social faux pas.

Griphook stared at them for a moment, and then grunted as he geatured them into one of the open private offices.

As they entered, three chairs appeared in front of the desk, but they did not sit until invited to do so, as they had been taught. This, apparently, had been the correct thing to do, as Griphook looked upon them with slight approval before he nodded to the chairs behind his desk.

The three time travelers sat down and Griphook pulled out a quill and parchment, but no ink. He stared at the three wizards again. "Everyone knows who the heirs to the Black and Malfoy fortunes are, and you are not them. However, I can not stop you from attempting to prove that you do have rights to access these vaults."

He reached across the desk to hand the quill to James. At the last second he pulled back once more. "However, I will warn you that if you do this, and you are found to be guilty of attempted fraud, you will never see the outside if this building again."

Griphook waited for them to stand and rush out of the room, and sighed with regret and vicious anticipation as James reached forward and took the quill from his hand. "I, James Sirius Potter, claim rights to access the Black Family Vaults as one of the three heirs of Sirius Orion Black."

As he spoke, he wrote the declaration on the parchment, and the words disappeared as quickly as the had been sliced into the back of his hand. The blood on the parchment shone black, and Griphook looked up with a malicious grin. James stared back calmly. The goblin leaned forward. "Well, well, well, it looks like the en-" he stopped short as Albus point a finger at the parchment with a straight face that he was obviously forcing.

Griphook watched with morbid facination as the blood morphed from black to gold, and lines spread upward from James' name to the name Sirius Black, and from the Sirius' name to the names Orion and Walburga Black. To each side of his name, lines connected him to Albus Severus Potter and Lily Luna Potter. Besides Orion and Walburga, all the names seemed to fade in and out, as though it couldn't decide whether they should be shown or not. But the names were unmistakably there.

Albus pricked his finger with the quill and pressed the blood to the parchment over his name. The blood soaked into the letters of his name, and it shone as brightly as Orion and Walburga's, before it once again started fluxuating between there and not.

Griphook reached across the table and snatched the parchment from in front of James. "I-I don't-It doesn't make sense-how-"

Scorpius didn't give him the chance to answer, gently seizing the parchment from the goblin's shaking hands. He, like James, spoke what he wrote out loud. I, Scorpius Hyperion Malfor, claim rights to access the Malfoy Family Vaults as the sole heir of Draco Malfoy."

And just like James, his blood turned black, only to shine a brilliant gold a moment later. On his family tree, both Scorpius and Draco faded in and out uncertainly, but the names Abraxas Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy shone brightly. As did the word APPROVED below both delcarations.

Griphook seethed with anger, and snatched the parchment once again, looking for any foul play that might have gotten past his defenses

He stopped to examine the two lineages carefully, and then sucked in a sharp breath. "Time Travelers. You travelled over half a century. That should be impossible."

James rolled his eyes, while the goblin perused the parchment. He cleared his throat and waited until he had Griphook attention. "We have business to conduct, so if they are no further hold ups, then we will be on our way."

Griphook said nothing, unable to argue with the proof in the magic, and two additional goblin's came to take the three wizards to their vaults. They left the goblin, staring at the blood lined parchment as though it had betrayed him.

Scorpius stood in front of the door to his vault on his own, his friends having left to attend to the Black Family Vault, and he took a deep breath. Running a single finger down a groove in the stone, he stepped back as a cloud of dust was removed from the opening door.

He stepped inside and was immediately draw to the wisps of black smoke that seemed to surround the book in the center of the room.

It disturbed him, how dark it was, and how he could feel that, despite his strange powers, he wouldn't be able to purify this dark artifact. With a flick of his wand, he levitated the diary into the silk bag he had brought with him, a replica of the one he had made for James earlier.

He turned to leave, and stopped short. Hung on the opposite wall of the vault was a portrait of his great grandfather, Abraxas, holding a newborn boy.

Lucius Malfoy, an innocent.

Scorpius had never thought that he would see him that way. But staring are the child, arm extended towards his father's hair in childish facination, he felt pity for what that happy baby would become.

And he felt it then, that urge to change what went wrong, to save the ending of a story that was already over. To do the wrong thing for the right reason. But he couldn't. They had already done too much. So he turned his back on the tragedy and left the vault.

James and Albus stepped up to their great-godfather's vault and looked at each other in trepidation. They needed this to work. As confident as they were, and as much fun as they were having, Scorpius had been right. This was dangerous. They were playing with time, jumping back and forth with abandon, something that should have been impossible to do once, let alone five times back to back, and with three people.

They had done it, but had no idea if they were doing this correctly. If they had gone to the right points of time, and if they had changed the right things. It was scary, thinking that they could be ruining their own lives, and everyone else's around them because of one small mistake. But then, they also couldn't give up because they there was a chance they'd fail. That wasn't something that they had been raised to think. So with a deep breath and another glance at each other, James and Albus entered the vault.

And Albus nearly passed out. The vault was damn near pulsing with dark magic, and unlike any other magically artifact that he had handled, all of these wanted his to absorb the magic. They wanted to be drained, and the sensation of all that magic pressing alluring into his skin repulsed him, and made his head spin.

James shot him a concerned look and tilted his head back towards the door. "Maybe you should wait outside? I can handle this on my own."

Albus looked at him in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? No you can't. Let's just find the damn thing and get out of here" James glowered at him, but made no further comment.

He stepped around the piles of gold on the floor, looking up as he tried to recall where they had been told the cup was. "Ok, according to the stories, they found the cup on the shelf, but didn't want to touch it, because it was cursed."

As though he had called the cup forward with his words, his hand passed in front of the golden chalice, and he yanked his hand back, but it was too late.

The tip of his thumb brushed over the foot of the cup, and it began to vibrate like mad. James grabbed the stem in a panic and pulled back with a hissing, a blister forming across the middle of his palm.

As the goblet fell off the shelf, it began to duplicate in midair, and Albus grabbed the original before it hit the floor and was lost among the copies it was making.

Showing no signs of pain from the direct contact, Albus' eyes burned white as he absorbed the magic of the defensive curse placed on the cup.

James was climbing the shelfs to avoid the burning metal that was piling up on the floor, but Albus stood in the center of the curse cups without moving. The chalice in his hand stopped vibrating, and as one, the duplicate cups disappeared.

James dropped down to the floor of the vault and stepped forward as Albus' pupils returned to their normal green, and he dropped the cup into the silk bag.

James bit back a curse at the blistering skin of Albus' hand -knowing his ankles had to look the same- but said nothing, and together, they walked out of the vault.

The brothers met Scorpius in the lobby of Gringotts, and the exchange between them was silent. James opened his silk bag, and Scorpius placed his own within it, without. Revealing the diary inside. They never knew who could be watching, afterall.

And then they walked out of the wizarding bank, with stoic expressions on their faces, and every goblin teller watching as they disappeared into the night. The door of the bank closed gentle behind them.

James took the time turner from beneath his shirt as he turned to look at Scorpius and Albus and as one, they all began to laugh. The sound was loud and abrasive in the quiet of Diagon Alley at midnight, but when the few patron turned their head in response to the commotion, there was no one to be found. The boys were gone.


End file.
